- LSB wants govt to deal with DISS’s opaque outsourcing of legal work
- Calls for greater transparency and fairness in govt legal contracts
- Over P27m spent in outsourcing to private lawyers and firms last year
TEFO PHEAGE
The Law Society of Botswana (LSB) has raised concerns about the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services’ (DISS) opaque outsourcing of legal work and called for greater transparency and fairness in government legal contracts.
Speaking at the opening of the legal year, the Chairman of LSB, Lesedi Moahi, emphasised the need for accountability in the allocation of legal work, particularly within state institutions like DISS, which he accused of secretly awarding legal contracts to a select few.
Disproportionate
“To redress the lack of transparency, accountability, and fairness in the outsourcing of legal work by the Attorney General and other government departments, especially DISS, we must confront the prevailing practice that disproportionately benefits a few at the expense of the general membership of the LSB,” he said.
However, Moahi commended the Minister of Justice Nelson Ramaotwana for engaging with LSB twice since assuming office to address these concerns but emphasised that mere discussions were not enough without meaningful action.
“Honourable Minister, we shall hold you to this,” he asserted, stressing that commitments must be upheld by both parties.
Over P27m
Last year, former justice minister Machana Shamukuni revealed that the government had spent over P27 million in outsourcing private lawyers and firms for cases over the previous five years.
Although he said he could not openly share the names of the law firms due to issues of client privilege, Shamukuni disclosed that the outsourcing of cases to private law firms started in earnest in April 2020.
He said a total of 91 cases were outsourced to law firms in the last five years. Breaking down how much was spent each year since 2020, Shamukuni said P2.9 million was spent in 2020 while P9.9 million was spent in 2021. P4.2 million was spent in 2022 while there was an exponential rise to P10.6 million in 2023.
Intricate cases
According to Shamukuni, the government continued to turn to private firms for state cases because state prosecutors do not have the capacity to deal with intricate cases.
“The procedure is that when it is determined that a case is complex and requires the services of an experienced lawyer, a formal request with justification is made to the Attorney General through the head of division,” he said.